Shower head



O United States Patent 1 3,541,352

[72] Inventor Jack L. Hadsel [56] References Cited Grand Rapids, Mich- UNlTED STATES PATENTS P 785415 2,622,927 12/1952 Sarbu 239/3s3x [22] Filed Sept. 18, 1968 2 767 024 10/1956 S 2 wan 39/383 [45] paemed 2 905 394 9/1959 Swan 239/383 [73] Assignee Wolverine Brass works Grand Rapids, Mich. Primary Examiner-M. Henson Wood, Jr. a corporation of Michigan Assistant Examiner-Michael Y. Mar

Attorney-J. Warren Kinney. Jr.

ABSTRACT: The shower head is constructed almost entirely [54] Figs. of plastic parts to which corrosion, mineral deposits and the like will not adhere; and associated with the head is a group of [52] [1.5. CI. t. 239/383, rapidly rotating nozzle elements which are self-cleaning due 239/460, 239/602 not only to their rapid motion, but also to the plastic construc- [51] Int. Cl. B05b 1/34 tion thereof which discourages retention of foreign matter [50] Field of Search 239/382, deposits or accumulations. The device features also economi- 383, 456, 460, 602 cal manufacture and assembly of parts.

PATENTEB 0501 519m 3; 547 352 IN VE/V TOR JACK L. HADSEL SHOWER HEAD This invention relates to a shower head, and concerns especially a construction which is self-cleaning of mineral deposits, corrosion, and other foreign materials that may tend to obstruct orifices and passageways for liquid passing through the shower head. The head is formed principally of plastic constituents which'are inexpensive, easy to assemble, and resistant to retention of foreign materials; and certain ones of the plasticparts are activated by pressure of liquid to promote self-cleaning and to improve the spray pattern of liquid emitted by the shower head.

An object of the invention is to provide in a shower head construction, improved means for keeping the passages and orifices thereof clear of corrosion, mineral deposits, and other foreign materials, thereby to enhance the practicality of the head continuously.

Another object of the invention is to improve the spray pattern and provide nozzles which are self-cleaning of foreign materials, corrosion, and undesirable deposits that tend to clog the passages and orifices of a shower head.

A further object of the invention is 'to eliminate to the greatest extent possible, such parts and surfaces as are prone to retain undesirable deposits oraccumulations which might interfere with continued practical usage of the shower head.

Another object is to reduce materially the cost of parts and' assembly of a shower head having the aforesaid characteristics and improvements, to the end 'that' the device may be produced and sold at low cost.

The foregoing and other objects are attained by the means described herein and illustrated upon the accompanying drawing, in which:

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view, partly in cross section, illustrating the improved shower head of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a bottom view ofthe same.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken on lines 3-3 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged side elevational view of a rotary nozzle constituting an element of the improved shower head.

FIG. 5 is a top plan view of the nozzle illustrated by FIG. 4.v

FIG. 6 is a bottom view of the nozzle.

FIG. 7 is an exploded perspective view of the shower head.

The improved shower head comprises a hollow body 10, which may be bell-shaped if desired, the interior ofwhich furnishes a chamber 12 receptive of water under pressure delivered through an inlet port 14 located at the reduced end 16 of the body. At 18 is representeda typical coupler whereby conventional manner the body may be suspended, and supplied with pressured water from a supply pipe, not shown. Preferably, through not necessarily, the coupler may include a conventional adjustable ball joint or swivel connection 20 with the upper or reduced end of thebody. Water introduced through the coupler may fill the chamber 12 when the shower head is in use.

The lower or enlarged end 22 of body 10 provides a large opening 24 within which may be mounted an orificed closure member or plate 26. Member '26 is formed of a semirigid plastic, of which ZELTON is an example, and will preferably have a substantial overall thickness or depth, particularly at the several cylindrical orifices 28 wherein are rotatably suspended the cylindrical nozzles 30. a

The orifice member or plate 26 has aperipheral outer wall 32 which may be continuously grooved as at 34 to receive an endless elastic friction ring 36. Ring 36.may be an ordinary resilient O-ring snugly fitted into groove 34, with a portion of the ring exposed beyond the face of wall 32 to frictionally engage the inner wall 38 of body opening 24, thereby to form a seal about plate 26 while at the same time frictionally retaining said' plate 26 against displacement from the open end 24 of body 10. Entry of the orifice plate-into body opening 24 may be limited by the interior shoulder 39.

In a preferred from of the shower head, the semirigid orifice plate 26 is not circular in contour, but multisided with rounded corners. In the embodiment illustrated by way of example, in FIG. 2, member 26 is seen to be in substantially the form of an equilateral triangle having outwardly curved sides and rounded apices. The shape of plate member 26 determines the shape of body opening 24 and retaining ring 36, as the plate member is forced into said. opening 24 during assembly of the head. It is to be understood that the body 10 will confirm to the shape of plate member 26, due to the fact that body 10 is formed of a pliable or deformable plastic material. The plastic material of body 10 may be a pliable plastic of the general class of Nylon, DELRIN, Teflon or the like. The body might alternatively be formed of rubber or rubberlike material, of a type capable of opposing sever distortion by the internal pressure of water introduced into chamber I2.

The frictional means described for retaining the orifice plate member 26 in place upon body 10, will under most water pressure conditions effectively preclude displacement of said member 26. However, if necessary, thepl ate member may be held in place by means of a suitable cement, or by means of conventional mechanical fasteners securing the plate member to the body.

The orifice plate member 26 of plastic material, carries an integral upright cylindrical post 40 at its center, and the upper free end of said post is squared or otherwise angularly shaped as at 42 to serve as a means for precluding rotation of a spider or spindle carrier 44 supported upon the post. The spider carries the spindles oraxles 46 upon which are rotatably mounted the nozzle elements 30. Thenozzle elementsareseen to have each an axial bore 48 to loosely accommodate a spindle or axle 46, and means are provided to prevent axial displacement of the nozzle elements from the free ends of the spindles. Such means may be in the form of screws 50 driven into the spindle ends, with the heads of the screws preventing separation of the nozzle elements from their respective spindles.

The spider includes radial arms 52 equal in number to the number of nozzles to be employed. The-entire spider including its hub 54, and the spindles 46 anchored in the spider arm ends, are desirably of rigid plastic material. Suitable plastic materials constituting the spider are DELRIN, Nylon, Teflon and similar plastics having the requisite rigidity. As an alternative, hard rubber or rubber substitutes having the desired qualities may be employed, if desired. The material from whichthe spider is formed should be such-as to resist any tendency to attract and accumulate waterborne or airborne materials which produce corrosion, scale, and other undesirable deposits. Also, the material should not be subject to deterioration or undue malformation by the action of hot.or cold potable water. v

Spider 44 may be stationary upon post 40, or it may be longitudinally adjustable thereon, as desired. If the spider is to be nonadjustable, it may simply rest upon post 40 or an adjacent portion of orifice plate 26. In either case, the spindles 46 will be centered in the several cylindrical orifices to properly support the nozzles 30, the centering being performed by the angular portion 42 of post 40 fitting the complementarily shaped axial hold 56 of the spider hub.

. If the spider 44 is to be adjustable lengthwise of post 40, for elevating and lowering the nozzle elements 30, any suitable means may be providedfor the purpose. A typical adjusting means is suggested by FIG. I, wherein is shown a shaft 58 journaled in body 10 for rotational movementby means of a hand knob 60. The inner end of a shaft 58may carry an eccentric pin 62 adapted to ride in a slot 64 formed in aside wall of hub 54, so that by hand-rotating the shaft 58,'the'spider may be bodily elevated or lowered lengthwise of post 40 to adjust the nozzle elements axially within the orifices 28. All portions of the shaft and the hand knob may be formed of a suitable hard plastic, if desired.

As was previously pointed out herein, the nozzles or ele ments 30 are mounted for free rotation upon spindles 46 concentrically within the deep orifices 28. Since the nozzles are identical, a description of one will suffice for the others also.

Nozzle 30 may be formed of a cylindrical section of rigid or semirigid plastic material, having a longitudinal concentric bore 48 to loosely accommodate a spindle 46.'The plastic material of which the nozzle is formed, should be wear-resistant and substantially impervious to water, and its exposed surfaces should be smooth and highly resistant to retention of foreign substances such as corrosion, mineral deposits or encrustations, and the like. Amongst the plastics suitable for use in forming the nozzle, is DELRIN, and others of the same general class.

The nozzle 30 may have its forward or leading end 66 gradually reduced in diameter toward the axis of rotation, and within the reduced portion are located the leading ends 68 of a series of U-shaped flutes or grooves 70 cut into the cylindrical outer wall of the nozzle. The leading end portions of the flutes or grooves are straight, and parallel to the axis of rotation of the nozzle. The tail ends or extensions 72 of the grooves are straight, but meet the leading end portions thereof at an obtuse angle of 160, measured along a line in the arcuate surface of the nozzle body. 1

Liquid under pressure directed at the reduced end of the nozzle will course lengthwise along the leading end portions of grooves 70,fto impinge upon the radially disposed impeller faces 74 of ,the angled sections of the grooves, thereby to generate a torque force resulting in rotating the nozzle. The angled extension or tail section 72 of each groove is of progressively lesser carrying capacity than the leading or entry section 68, so as to gradually constrict the flow and augment the pressure of liquid tending to rotate the nozzle. This results in powerful high speed rotation of the nozzle, which desirably diffuses the spray and reduces to a minimum the likelihood of any scale or other foreign matter accumulating upon the nozzle or within its surrounding orifice 28.

A comparison of FIGS. 5 and 6 shows that grooves 70 are of greater carrying capacity than grooves 72, and that grooves 72 have an impelling face 74 which is disposed radially of the nozzle. The face 76 which complements the impelling face 74', is seen to meet the impelling face 74 at an approximate right angle. Preferably, the depth of each groove 72 decreases in the direction of the butt end 78 of the nozzle element.

Uniformly satisfactory results have been obtained in a construction wherein the depth of orifice 28 is'one-half inch;the length of the nozzle thirteen-sixteenths inch; and the running clearance between the nozzle and the orifice wall approximates .015 inch. The diameter of the nozzle was fixed at .530 inch. and the length of each of the six parallel groove sections 68 leading to the angular tail sections 72, was threeeighths inch. The groove sections 68 preferably measure .104 inch in width, and .084 inch in depth, for best results. The foregoing dimensions and proportions produced optimum results at average municipal water line pressure, considered not critical.

A shower head constructed in accordance with the foregoing disclosure will be found inexpensive to manufacture, with great savings being realized in the assembly thereof. The device is thoroughly self-cleaning, and will require no servicing throughout extended periods of use,'even though local water conditions and atmospheric conditions may tend to promote corrosion, and deposits orencrustations of scale and the like. In addition to the self-cleaning effect of the rapidly rotating nozzles, there is obtained also a highly desirablespray pattern especially adapted for rapid and thorough rinsing. The extensive plastic surfaces and areas of the apparatus, both inside and outside, are especially effective in preventing undesirable and unsightly accumulation of foreign matter.

The shower head may be assembled either with or without the adjustment means for elevating and lowering the nozzle elements relative to the orifice plate member; and the number of nozzle elements and orifices incorporated in the structure may be varied as desired. The nature of the coupling disclosed for connecting the shower head to a water supply pipe is of no consequence to the present invention, and is therefore not to be considered a structure limitation upon the invention disclosed.

The nonmetallic parts hereinbefore mentioned may be molded from such materials as thermoplastic polycarbonate,

' acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene phenoxy resins, poly phenylene oxide, or the acetyl polymer DELRlN. Satisfactory parts may be made also from ABS, an copolymer, or from polypropylene or polyethylene materials, in addition to ZEL- TON.

lt is to be understood that various modifications and changes may be made in the structural details of the device disclosed, within the scope of the appended claims, without departing from the spirit of the invention. H

lclaim:

l. A shower head comprising in combination: a hollow body having an open lower end, and a reduced upper end including a passageway and means for connecting said passageway to a supply pipe for water under pressure, the hollow interior of the body providing a chamber between said body ends; an orifice plate fitted to said body and substantially closing said open lower end thereof,- means for holding saidorifice plate to said body said plate having formed therein at'least one outlet orifice having an axis disposed at substantial right angles to said plate; a rotary nozzle element, and means separate from said means for holding said orifice platefo'r supporting said nozzle element for rotation within the outlet orifice and upon the axis thereof; means in the nozzle element providing a plurality of channels for the release of pressured water from the body chamber through said outlet orifice; and means associated with at least one of said channels'for generating a torque force to rotate the nozzle element incident to a flow of water through the orifice and past the nozzle element.

2. The device as specified by claim 1, wherein the body, the orifice plate, and the rotary nozzle element are formed of nonmetallic plastic materials characterized by imperviousness to water, and an ability to resist retention of waterborne and airborne solids imposed thereon.

3. The device as specified by claim 2, wherein the orifice plate is held stationary within the open end of the body solely by frictional contact tending to expand said open end.

4. The device as specified by claim 1, wherein the orifice plate is formed from a material of the class of ZELTON, and the nozzle element is formed from a material of the class of DELRIN.

5. The device as specified by claim 1, wherein the combination includes manually operable means for adjusting the nozzle element within the outlet orifice lengthwise of the axis of said orifice. f

6. The device as specified by claim 1', wherein said last mentioned means comprises a channel extension passageway formed on the nozzle element to communicate with and meet said one channel at an angle approximating 20.

7. The device as specified by claim 1, wherein said last mentioned means comprises a plurality of channel extension passageways formed on the nozzle element and each communicating with and meeting a channel at an obtuse angle.

8. A shower head comprising in combination: a hollow body having an open end, and a reduced end including a passageway and means for connecting said passageway to a supply pipe for water under pressure, the hollow interior of the body providing a fluid chamber between said body ends; an orifice-plate fitted to said body for substantially closing said open end thereof, said plate having formed therein a plurality of spaced outlet orifices each having an axis disposed substantially at right angles to said plate; a plurality of nozzle elements equal in number to the number of orifices, and means rotatably supporting said nozzle elements each within an outlet orifice and upon an axis thereof; said nozzle elements each comprising a rotatable cylinder having a leading end, a butt end, and an intermediate cylindrical outer wall, said outer wall being grooved from the region of the leading end toward but short of reaching the butt end of the cylinder, said foreshortened grooves being substantially straight and in substantial parallelism with the axis of rotation of the cylinder; and a plurality of groove extensions equal in number to, and each communicating with one of said straight grooves, said groove extensions terminating as openings at the butt end of a cylindrical nozzle, for the release of fluid fed to the straight grooves from said fluid chamber; said groove extensions each being located on an arcuate line in the cylindrical outer wall aforesaid, and each meeting one of the straight grooves at an obtuse angle, said groove extensions each including an impeller face to be struck by a flow of fluid leaving a straight groove, for generating a torque force acting to rotate the cylindrical nozzle upon its axis as fluid passes continuously along the straight grooves and their respective connecting groove extensions.

9. The device as specified by claim 8, wherein said groove extensions are of lesser fluid-carrying capacity than the straight grooves.

10. The device as specified by claim 9, wherein the fluidcarrying capacity of each groove extensionis progressively reduced in the direction of the openings at the butt end of the cylindrical nozzle.

11. The device as specified by claim 8, wherein the obtuse angle at which each straight groove meets a groove extension, approximates l60.

12. The device as specified by claim 8, wherein both the orifice plate and the rotary nozzle elements are formed of semirigid plastic materials characterized by imperviousness to water and an ability to resist retention of waterborne solids imposed thereon.

13. The device as specified by claim 12, wherein the plastic material of the orifice plate is a material of the class of ZEL- TON, and the plastic material of the nozzle elements is a material of the class of DELRIN.

14. The device as specified by claim 8, wherein the impeller face of each groove extension is disposed substantially radially of the cylindrical nozzle, and each of said impeller faces is complemented by an opposite face 'which meets the impeller face at approximately a right angle.

15. The device as specified by claim 14, wherein said groove extensions are of lesser fluid-carrying capacity than the straight grooves.

16. The device as specified by claim 15, wherein the fluidcarrying capacity of each groove extension is progressively reduced in the direction of the openings at the butt end of the cylindrical nozzle.

17. The device as specified by claim 10, wherein the obtuse angle at which each straight groove meets a groove extension, approximates 18. The device as specified by claim 12, wherein the running clearance between each nozzle element and the orifice in which said element rotates, measures approximately .015 inch.

19. The device as specified by claim 8, wherein the nozzle elements are formed of the plastic DELRIN, and the orifice plate is formed of the plastic ZELTON.

20. The device as specified by claim 19, wherein the hollow body of the shower head is formed of the plastic ZELTON. 

